


There's Always A Better Choice

by Mrs_Monaghan



Series: Pleasing My Readers (prompts) [5]
Category: Shameless (US)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Manipulation, Hurt/Comfort, Jealous Mickey Milkovich, Kissing, M/M, Popular Mickey Milkovich, Protective Mickey Milkovich, Rich Mickey Milkovich, innocent ian
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-12
Updated: 2016-11-12
Packaged: 2018-08-30 13:37:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,432
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8535250
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mrs_Monaghan/pseuds/Mrs_Monaghan
Summary: Prompt:Mickey has always had a thing for Ian but never worked up the courage to ask him out. Mickey’s bestfriend Brice who also comes from a rich family beats him to the punch and starts dating Ian. Unlike them Ian is from a poor family. The guy is always an asshole to Ian and takes every opportunity to bring him down. Mickey sees this happening but Brice is his bestfriend and it takes everything he has not to interviene.When it becomes too much Mickey realizes he can either be on Ian's side or his bestfriend's side. But he cannot do both.(Changed Summary)





	

**Author's Note:**

> @ Carisa thanks for the prompt, here you go.  
> i really had fun writing this.  
> (i tweaked the summary so it wouldn't give everything away)
> 
> Season 2 Ian ofcourse.  
> Enjoy guys!!!

Mickey stood under a tree in the field watching as his best friend Brice walked towards the bleachers. He paced back and forth biting on his nails enviously. That should be him right now, walking towards Ian asking him to go out on a date. But now, Mickey was too chicken shit to do it. He was left feeling jealous and envious that Brice had the guts to do it. And now Mickey had to pretend to be happy and supportive that his friend had landed the prettiest sophomore in school. 

Of course Ian didn’t know this, something Mickey found so endearing. Always turning down subtle comments Mickey threw his way. Mickey and Ian were friends, kind of. Mickey was in love with the freckled redhead, had been for a while now. Ever since he got admitted to the school. And Mickey had made sure he found his way into Ian's life. They talked and sometimes Mickey offered to drop Ian home, and Ian knew to always count on him. But for two years now Mickey had not been able to tell him how he truly felt. 

Brice one the other hand was a confident bastard who had come to ask Mickey to wish him good luck because he was about to go ask Ian Gallagher out. In that moment Mickey wanted to punch his best friend in the face but he couldn’t of course. So he was left to stand here, under this stupid fucking tree and watch as Ian blushed and laughed at whatever fucking Brice was saying to him.

“Fuck.” Mickey cursed. He kicked a stray rock and took a deep breath. He wondered if he was the worst friend ever for wishing they wouldn’t last. 

This honestly sucked ass.

 

~/~/~/~/~/~

 

It’s been a while since Mickey joined Ian at the cafeteria during lunch but today he decides to. The moment he sits at the table all of Ian’s friends disperse. Ian rolls his eyes. “I told you, you scare my friends.” He laughs in that adorable way he always does. 

“Fuck ‘em. ‘Tis not my fault they're pussies.”

Ian tilts his head at him. “Mick, your crew consists of bullies, can't blame them.”

“Speaking of,” Mickey puts a fry in his mouth. “Heard you’re dating one of the said _bullies_ ”

Mickey watches as Ian’s neck turns pink and blush spreads all the way to his ears. He smirks, “You can't judge me.”

“I'm not.” Ian looks at him like he doesn’t believe him. “How is that going?”

Ian smiles and Mickey wishes he could one day put a smile like that on the beautiful freckled face. “He’s nice.”

“Yeah?” Mickey asks and Ian nods. Mickey knows for a fact that Brice isn’t always _nice_ but maybe he’s different with Ian. “That’s great.” It's really not.

“Bought me the shoes I'm wearing. It was my birthday yesterday.”

Mickey looks under the table at Ian news sneakers. They're nice. “Why the fuck didn’t you tell me? Could’ve gotten you something too.”

Ian frowns at him. “Why?”

Mickey shrugs and gets up because to be honest he doesn’t have an answer for that question. He had a weird friendship going with Gallagher. 

 

~/~/~/~/~/~

 

They are hanging out the three of them at Brice’s home. It’s been three months now since Ian and Brice officially became a couple and most times than not Mickey is always the third wheel. Brice trusts him and always wants Mickey by his side, Ian and he are friends so he doesn’t mind either. So Mickey is sited on a recliner in this huge house watching as Brice cuddles with who Mickey has come to conclude is the love of his life. Before Mickey knew he loved Ian, but all this hanging out with the couple he continues to fall deeper and deeper for Ian. He can't help it even if he tried and he knows just how weird that sounds. 

Ian is lying on Brice's chest and Brice is caressing his chest lovingly. Mickey tries not to choke on his jealousy. He excuses himself and goes to Brice's bedroom to play video games instead. 

So far Brice is a good boyfriend and Mickey feels terrible for being in love with his bestfriend’s boyfriend but what is he to do? He saw Ian first. It's not his fault that Brice came and just… took him. He takes out all his anger on the game and reaches all the high scores. He eventually gets tired so he goes back downstairs to tell the couple he wants to leave. That’s when he hears it.

‘What the fuck did I tell you Ian?”

“I'm… I'm sorry.” Ian apologizes timidly. 

“There’s a reason I'm your first boyfriend. No one wants to date some stupid poor kid from the Southside. So I'd be nice to me if I were you.”

“Ye.. yeah.” Ian stammers out and Mickey is honestly taken aback by the conversation. 

Is that how Brice usually talks to Ian when he’s not around, or is today the first time? Mickey doesn’t like this, he doesn’t like this one bit. 

 

~/~/~/~/~/~

 

Mickey's drives up to Ian as he walks home. “Get in.”

Ian grins at him and gets in the passenger’s seat. “Hey Mick.” 

“Hey Gallagher, how you been?” he starts the car and heads to the Southside.

“Okay.”

“Brice?”

“Great.” Ian replies with a smile and Mickey concludes last night's incident was probably a onetime thing otherwise Ian would at least be upset.

“How is your family? You want pizza? We can pass by that place you like.”

Ian smiles at him shyly. “You don’t always have to you know, I will pay you back one day.”

“Shut the fuck up.” Mickey replies fondly and they both laugh.

 

~/~/~/~/~/~

 

It's two days later when Mickey witnesses another incident. They are eating lunch chatting it up when one of the teachers walks around the cafeteria then leaves.

“You stopped looking at him in the eye like we talked about, right?” Brice asks Ian and puts a hand across his shoulder. Ian nods and takes a bite of his food his eyes trained on the table.

“What's this about?” Mickey asks.

“That asshole of a teacher looks at him funny.” He kisses Ian on the forehead. “But we agreed Ian wasn’t going to throw himself at him like some slut didn’t we?” Ian sniffs and rubs a hand across his nose, Mickey wants to reach for Brice across the table and choke all the oxygen out of him. “Didn’t we?”

“Yeah.” Ian replies with a shaky voice.

“That’s right. No need to be a fucking whore.” Mickey sees the hurt and dejected look on Ian's face and he gets ready to put his friend in his place when Ian gets up angrily. Brice quickly grabs his hand to stop him from leaving. “Hey, hey… come on. I'm just joking you know this.” Ian gives him a hard glare and Mickey wants to kiss him just so he can see his beautiful smile again. 

“Come on babe, have a seat I'm sorry.” 

Ian reluctantly sits back down and Brice peppers endless kisses all over his face. He whispers something in Ian's ear and the latter slowly but surely starts smiling. Just like that, they're okay again. Mickey has had enough of this shit. He shakes his head irritated by the entire scene then gets up and walks away.

 

~/~/~/~/~/~

 

“You're not playing?”

“I'm sitting this one out.”

“Perks of being the captain huh?”

“Yep.” Mickey replies and lights up another cigarette. 

He is sited by the bleachers with Ian watching as him team practices. Brice being one of his team mates. He glances at Ian as sees him rotating the ball on the chain around his neck.

“Where did you get that?” he asks despite dreading the answer.

“Brice finally told me he loves me.” Mickey wants to scoff but he manages to control himself. “That’s great, right? I mean from what I've heard he has never said I love you to anyone before.

“Yeah, okay.” Mickey replies and spits the bitterness from his mouth. 

 

~/~/~/~/~/~

 

“You are so fucking stupid man that is not how you keep a girl.” Brice tells one of the players. After the game the team headed to Mickey's to hang out. “You need to have her wrapped her around you finger. This is why you go for the vulnerable type.”

“That why you’re dating Gallagher?”

“Fuck yeah. I have a good-looking boyfriend who does everything I say. Like has never been better!” he lifts his beer and everyone joins him in his laughter. 

It takes everything in Mickey not to spit in his face then kick him out. Seriously, has Brice always been like this? How had Mickey not seen this side of him until now? Is it because he didn’t care about the others before Ian? That’s probably it because Mickey doesn’t see how they could have stayed friends this long when Brice has this kind of personality.

He stands and goes to the kitchen to join the other players there. He needs a break from doucheness. A few hours later the gathering is now a party and Mickey is feeling a little high. He also wants to pee big time. He goes to the downstairs bathroom and as soon as he opens it he quickly shuts the door again.

“Jesus Christ.” 

He runs upstairs to his bedroom and uses his bathroom instead. How is Ian dating such an inconsiderate prick? He tries to shake the image of Brice getting bent over their sink but it seems to be imbedded in his brain for now. So Brice not only treats Ian like shit but he’s cheating on him too? Mickey would bet anything tonight is not the first time either. 

He cannot believe, and he hates the fact that Ian's first boyfriend is an asshole. He wishes there was something he could do but it's really not his place. Brice is his best friend after all and he's supposed to be on the dick’s side. Mickey can only groan in frustration.

 

~/~/~/~/~/~

 

Brice's car is at the garage so Mickey drives them to school. “So umm, you and Leo?”

“Shit, you know?” Brice asks as he lights a cigarette. He doesn’t even look like he regrets it, it was not just the alcohol it seems.

“What about Ian?” Mickey has to ask.

“ _What_ about Ian?”

Mickey shakes his head. “Nothing.”

 

~/~/~/~/~/~

 

That evening Mickey ditches Brice despite knowing he’s his ride home. Especially knowing he’s Brice's ride home. Let the idiot use public transport or some shit. Mickey doesn’t fucking care. He drives Ian home instead.

He wonders how to ask what he wants to know then decides to just go for it. “You and umm… Brice use condoms all the time, right?”

Ian frowns at him then laughs. “Of course Mick, ‘m not dumb.” Mickey can't believe how relieved he is by that knowledge. He would hate for Ian to suffer in any kind of way. Ian's laugh turns into an angry frown and Mickey knows he’s thinking about Brice calling him stupid.

“You are not stupid Ian.”

“I know, it's just…”

Mickey surprises himself by grabbing Ian's hand and squeezing comfortingly. “You’re not.” He assures and stops the car so Ian can get out. He however just puts his hand on the handle and lingers. “What?”

“Nothing, you’re just always so nice to me.” Ian states shyly. Mickey wants to caress his face and tell him how amazing he is but he manages to restrain himself. “Thank you.”

“’Course.”

 

~/~/~/~/~/~

 

Ian and Mickey are at star bucks sited at a table waiting for Brice to arrive. They are talking and laughing about the first time they smoked weed.

“See?” Ian says. “I win.”

“Fine. I guess climbing a tree naked beats calling each of your siblings to tell them how much you love them.”

Ian laughs. “Still can't picture you doing that though.” He takes another sip of his milkshake and laughs some more.

“Shut up, I have my moments.” 

“Mickey, can I ask you something?” Ian asks once he’s calmed down.

“Shoot.” Mickey gets comfortable in his seat.

“Why are you single?”

“What, is it a crime?”

Ian blushes. “No, just that you're so… popular, and... and rich and you’re not ugly.” Ian says then breaks into a fit of giggles.

Mickey reaches across the table and tries to choke him. That just seems to increase Ian’s laughter. “Fuck you I'm extremely handsome.” 

“Yeah, you are.” Ian concurs shyly. They stare at each other for a few minutes each with a smile on their faces.

“Sorry I'm late guys.” They both jump startled by Brice's arrival as the moment breaks. 

 

~/~/~/~/~/~

 

Mickey is late for his next class and he walks past an empty class when he hears a commotion inside. 

“I said I was sorry Brice, you're hurting me!”

“Ian.” Mickey says to himself and bursts into the class. 

“Do you know how lucky you are to be dating me you stupid twink? Huh? I see you smiling at him again and I swear to God…”

“I didn’t I swear…”

“Shut up while I'm talking.” Brice goes to punch Ian but Mickey runs and puts himself between them blocking the punch.

“BRICE, WHAT THE FUCK!”

“Talk to your friend Mick! You better talk to him.” Brice says and storms out of the classroom.

Ian finally breaks down and throws himself in Mickey's arms sobbing. “Hey, shh…” Mickey pats the red hair and continues to shush him. “It’s okay Ian, it's alright.” 

He holds Ian until he stops crying and wipes at his tears. He looks at Mickey’s now wet shirt and apologises. “I'm sorry.”

“It’s okay, tell me what happened?”

Ian sniffles and wipes more of his tears. “It's my fault.”

Mickey highly doubts that. “Okay, what did you do?”

“This boy in class, I think he likes me, ‘m not sure. Brice saw him smiling at me and…”

He’s about to start crying again so Mickey just pulls him into his arms and gives him a long tight hug. He breathes in relief when he feels Ian relax against him. “You wanna skip? We could go somewhere.”

Ian nods eagerly and Mickey can't help but laugh. They get in Mickey's car and Mickey drives to Ian's pizza place and they get his favorite and sodas then head to the park to people watch. 

Ian sighs and taps his stomach. “I'm fucking stuffed.”

“Alright English major.” They both laugh. 

Beat. 

“He ever hit you before?”

Ian waves away his question. “Been a while since I came to the park. Let’s go to the swings.”

Mickey allows the subject change and they go to the swings. It's an afternoon of laughter and Mickey trying to ensure Ian completely forgets what took place a few hours before. It gets dark while they're still keeping score of who can go higher than the other. 

 

~/~/~/~/~/~

 

The next two weeks Ian and Brice are fine, back to normal and Mickey hates it. It's not even about being jealous anymore. Mickey just doesn’t want Ian around that fucker anymore. He hangs around them even more than usual trying to ensure Ian's pretty face stays the way it is. Week three after assembly Mickey notices that Ian is not in school. He calls his phone which goes unanswered and worry kicks in. he rushes to the Southside and drives like a maniac to the Gallagher home. 

For the first time in years Mickey finally walks up and knocks at the door. He has never been inside before. He knocks for a while before the door finally opens.

“What the actual fuck Ian!” Mickey shouts when he looks at Ian's face. He doesn’t fail to notice Ian is holding onto one of his ribs.

“Demmit Mickey, what are you doing here?” Ian curses and walks back in and lies on a rundown couch. 

“What do you mean? Wasn’t I supposed to find out about this?”

"No!”

“Why the fuck not?”

“Because I know how you get.”

Mickey runs a hand across his face irritably. “How do I get Ian?”

“Like this.” He looks up at Mickey with his one good eye. “All angry and you don’t even know what happened.”

“Demmit Ian, you don’t get it, do you? It doesn’t matter what you did, the idiot is in school fine as a fucking whistle and here you are hurt, looking fucking… purple.”

Ian laughs but Mickey finds nothing to laugh about. He clicks his tongue and goes back out. 

“Mickey don’t!” Ian shouts but he ignores him.

 

~/~/~/~/~/~

 

Mickey parks the car angrily and runs into the school. Students are still scattered around the corridors. He goes straight to Brice's locker where he's standing laughing with their other friends. Mickey grabs him by his shirt and lifts him up slamming him against the locker.

“Fuuuuuck!”

Mickey does it again, and again and again. He then drops Brice on the ground and punches him a few times on the face and finishes with a kick to his ribs.

“Why?” Brice asks as he spits blood. 

“There, now you look exactly like Ian does.”

“Are you fucking kidding me!” Brice asks and looks up at him incredulously. “This is about _him?_ ”

“Demn right it's about him!”

“You're going to pick him over our years of friendship?”

“That’s the thing fucker, maybe we shouldn’t fucking be.” Mickey spits on him and walks away from the scene he's caused.

“I knew it!” Brice shouts. “I knew you wanted him. that’s not what best friends do!”

Mickey flips him off and keeps walking. 

 

~/~/~/~/~/~

 

 

When Mickey gets back to the Gallagher house it's not locked and Ian is not on the couch. He takes the stairs and looks into the room. He finds Ian sleeping on a twin bed. He gets in beside him and waits him out. Ian shakes him awake a while later.

“I fell asleep?”

Ian laughs softly. “Yes. When did you get here?”

Mickey ignores him. “Where is everyone?” he points at all the other beds in the room. 

“It's a weekday. No one is home.” Ian says as he caresses Mickey’s bloody knuckles. “What did you do?’ he asks quietly.

“What needed to be done.” Ian blinks at him. “You can do better you know.”

“Yeah? Who is better than Brice?”

“Fucking everyone Ian.” 

Ian shakes his head and a tear trails down his good cheek. “No one would want me Mick, I was lucky to have a boyfriend like Brice.”

“You need to let go of that bullshit he fed you.” Deep exhale. “You are too sweet and too good to be dating a dickhead like Brice. You hear me?” Mickey lightly caresses Ian's cheek and they stare at each other and this feels like that day at star bucks. “You hear me?” he repeats and Ian nods slowly.

“There’s always a better choice. Someone who won’t hurt you, or hit you, or fucking humiliate you.”

Ian sniffs and diverts his eyes. “You are rich and popular you don’t get it.” 

“But I do, I do Ian. There is someone out there who will love you and take care of you, like you deserve.” Mickey caresses his neck gently.

Ian clears his throat. “You think so?”

“I know so.” Mickey smiles and Ian smiles back. 

Ian moves closer towards him and Mickey swallows. Ian moves again until they're now nose to nose. “You’ve always been there for me Mick.” Ian says his breath fanning Mickey's face.

Mickey nods. “Always.” 

They simultaneously gravitate towards each other and their lips meet. From the moment their lips touch Mickey understands what people mean when they say _fireworks_. 

Ian's lips feel just as amazing as Mickey has imagined for all this years. Ian inhales deeply and pulls Mickey's bottom lip into his mouth. Mickey can't help the moan that leaves him. Demn, if he knew this is how he would have been feeling this entire time, he would have approached Ian sooner. A hand caresses his waist and Mickey swears he's in heaven.

He cannot believe he’s denied himself this for so long. Mickey automatically puts his tongue in Ian's mouth and the latter eagerly sucks on it. And when he moans Mickey swearS he's about to come in his pants.

Ian pulls back to look at him. “I have always wondered what that would feel like.”

“Fuck, me too. Come’re” 

Mickey does not want this kiss to end. Not now, not ever. He smiles in satisfaction when he realizes the feeling is mutual.

**Author's Note:**

> *smiley face*


End file.
